[Mhiz Rebecca]

Three men were convicted on Tuesday by a Swedish
court in connection with the rape of a Swedish woman
that was broadcast live on Facebook earlier this year.
Two of the men, aged 18 and 21 who came to Sweden
as minors from Afghanistan were convicted of rape,
according to the ruling by the district court in Uppsala,
North of Stockholm.
The younger man received a one-year prison term.
The court reduced his sentence by one year due to his
age, while the 21-year-old was sentenced to two years
and four months.
He was also convicted of minor drugs offences.
The two said the woman had voluntary sex with them
after they had met at a night spot in Uppsala.
The court rejected that, saying the prosecutors had
showed that the woman had been in a “vulnerable
state” due to a high level of intoxication from alcohol
and drugs.
“It is not possible for a person in such a vulnerable
situation to give their consent,” judge Nils Palbrant
said in a comment.
A 24-year-old Swedish national was handed a six-
month term over being an accessory to rape of failing
to intervene to stop a rape and for slander as he
filmed the attack with a mobile phone and made
derogatory statements about the victim.
The court ruled that the crime was “aggravated as the
film clip received widespread attention in Sweden and
abroad, and caused great harm to the injured party.”
The three men, who denied the charges, were arrested
after police were alerted to the Jan. 22 crime that was
filmed and live-streamed for a private group on
Facebook.
In addition to prison terms, the court ordered them to
pay damages totalling 330,000 kronor (37,400 dollars)
to the unnamed woman.
During the course of the trial, prosecutors said they
received a complete film clip from Facebook showing
the incident, arguing it strengthened their case.
Testimony from several witnesses who saw the live
stream was also part of the case.
At the closing of the trial, the prosecutors also
dropped an initial request that the two younger men
should be deported to Afghanistan, if convicted.
Most of the trial was held behind closed doors.
The court ordered that the identity of the victim, a
woman in her 30s, remained sealed.